Proving Damages in a Personal Injury Claim

February 12, 2016
By
Thomas J. Foley

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A
personal injury
case has three main components; liability, damages and insurance. If any
one of those components are missing, the case has no value. Proving “damages”
can often be the most difficult part of establishing the value of a client’s
case. Damages can include economic loss (i.e. loss of income) and non-economic
loss (i.e. pain and suffering). If an accident causes a client to miss
work, and the client is not compensated for his/her time of work, the
client has a claim for economic loss. The amount of the loss equals past
lost wages, plus anticipated future losses. Lost wages can be proven to
a jury by the introduction of employment forms and tax returns. If future
lost wages are claimed, this means that the client is likely to be unable
to return to work due to the injuries sustained in the accident. Under
these circumstances it is often advisable to retain the services of an
economist. A skilled economist can establish not only the client’s
past lost wages, but also the anticipated future lost wages. A lost wages
claim can often add significant value to a case.

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